


So This Is Family

by Emme2589



Series: Luigi's Mansion 3 Retold [4]
Category: Luigi's Mansion (Video Games), Super Mario & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bigotry & Prejudice, Brotherly Bonding, Domestic Fluff, Family Bonding, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, mario and luigi have good parents, theres a bit of conflict but it doesn't last, this was basically an excuse to write family fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:22:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25712035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emme2589/pseuds/Emme2589
Summary: Gooigi goes with Luigi and Mario to meet their parents in the Italian countryside.No big deal, right?
Series: Luigi's Mansion 3 Retold [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1754224
Comments: 1
Kudos: 31





	So This Is Family

**Author's Note:**

> For continuity's sake, this story takes place after _The Anthem of a Ghostly Goo,_ but before _The Anthem of a Man in Green,_ so that's why Gooigi doesn't talk through the link, since it isn't established yet.

Gooigi stared out the car window as the landscape flew by, cities visible in the distance with long boats along rivers, flowers and trees marking the bends in the road. Families of ducks swam by, while fish lapped at bugs unfortunate enough to land on the surface.

"It's a lot to take in, isn't it?"

Luigi placed a hand on his shoulder, and Gooigi nodded eagerly.

"The Italian countryside is breathtaking." Luigi glanced up at the rolling clouds in the distance, "I've seen it a thousand times, but I never get tired of it."

Mario was the one in the driver's seat, turning around corners as more rolling hills came into view, "You can tell when we've made it to Italy because we're now so far away from the Mushroom Kingdom that the sounds of carts and buggies have faded away."

"Yeah! Even in the capital, you won't hear too many city sounds! It's relatively quiet!" Luigi looked out his own window, where the occasional house appeared and then vanished, "You know, Mario, we could have taken the Odyssey."

"Nah. It's too much of a hassle for how close it is." Mario drove around another bend, "Besides, I agreed to let Cappy have it for the rest of the weekend."

"Okay, that's fair."

Mario eased off the dirt road and parked the car in the grass. All three of them got out as Gooigi made a questioning sound.

"The road ends here." Luigi explained, "We have to continue on foot."

Gooigi was trying to figure out how to ask why they couldn't just drive over the grass when he saw in the distance where they were headed. It appeared to be a small settlement, with a few different houses separated by water canals and connected by bridges. Spring flowers fell from the trees into the water, where boats piloted by old men lazily paddled through.

The three headed over the first bridge, and one of the passengers waved up at them, _"Buongiorno!"_

Luigi gave a friendly wave in response, "Isn't it beautiful?"

Gooigi could only nod as he craned his neck, attempting to look at everything at the same time.

Mario led the way to a house with a baby blue door. It had piranha plants lining the windowsill planters, with an assortment of various other flowers in the yard. A cobblestone path led up to the door, and Mario gave it a firm knock.

Gooigi was trembling slightly, so Luigi elbowed him, "You nervous?"

Gooigi nodded.

"Don't be. Our folks'll love you."

The one who answered the door was a plump old woman, a little shorter than Mario. Her curly hair was white, and she wore little round spectacles on her large round nose. Her red dress had a white apron over it, and she wore red shoes as well.

Her vivid blue eyes lit up upon seeing them, "Mario! Luigi!"

"Mama!" Mario gave her a hug, "It's so good to see you!"

"You too, _Bambino!"_

Luigi hugged her next, "Mama! We missed you!"

"I missed you too, sweetheart!" the woman stepped back, and her eyes softened upon seeing Gooigi, "Please! Come in come in!"

The inside of the house was small and cozy, with a kitchen area off to the left and a living area to the right. A round table with a white lace tablecloth was between them, topped by a vase of lillies. The woman ushered them to the table before calling into the hallway, "Come see who's here, _Amore!"_

Gooigi was still soaking in the room when the woman addressed him, "You must be Gooigi. My sons have told me all about you! My name is Anna, but you can call me Mama!"

Gooigi looked between everyone, settling on Luigi and giving a gurgle in question.

Luigi put an arm around him, "Of course I let her know in advance. We talk on the phone, remember? And we send letters!"

"Yes, I'm afraid I wouldn't have known what to make of you if I hadn't been notified." Anna folded her hands on the table, "Now, remind me where he came from?"

Luigi leaned forward, "He was an experiment by E. Gadd, remember?"

Anna lost her smile, "Oh yes. That nasty old man who forces you to fight ghosts for him."

"Uh, well..." Luigi laughed nervously, "He's really not so bad. He did push me too hard sometimes, but his heart is in the right place."

"Well, I still don't like him. I know how much you hate ghosts, Luigi." Anna shook her head, "No offense to you, Gooigi. From what I've heard from these two, you are remarkable."

Mario glanced into the hallway, "Where's Papa?"

Anna stood from her chair, "Marco! Do you want to see your children or not!?"

She disappeared into the hallway, and Luigi took Gooigi's hand, "Hey, it's alright. I can tell she likes you already."

A muffled barking came through the walls, and Luigi scrambled from his chair to catch the white streak that phased in through the wall.

"Polterpup!" Luigi received a sloppy kiss in response, "I was wondering where you were! I told you to stay in the car!"

Mario and Gooigi hurried to help him, grabbing Polterpup and helping Luigi to his feet respectively.

Mario's hold slipped and Polterpup ran through the couches, "Did Polterpup follow us the whole way here!?"

"He must have! He wouldn't have found his way otherwise!" Luigi held his head in his hands, "Please don't tell me you've been causing trouble!"

Polterpup sat in front of him, his tongue lolling out of his mouth.

"Don't act all innocent!" Luigi lunged for him, but he dodged and phased through the wall.

"Boys?" Anna reappeared, "Is something the matter?"

"Nope!" Luigi said automatically, "Did you find Papa?"

"Oh I found him, alright." she gestured to the man who hobbled in through the doorway. He was tall, easily as tall as Princess Peach, and he was very thin, though he still had a pudgy stomach. His hair was also mostly white, and he had a wide handlebar moustache that curled off his thin face. He had a large nose too, though not as large as his wife or sons, and he wore blue overalls atop a white dress shirt. His eyes were mostly hidden by thick eyebrows, but from the low light, Gooigi guessed that they were probably black.

"Papa!" Mario and Luigi ran to hug him.

"Oh ho! You boys are more lively every time I see you!"

"Well, of course!" Luigi stepped back first, "We're only in our thirties! Our lives are far from over!"

"True." the man extended his hand to Gooigi, "You're Gooigi, right? I'm Marco, but these boys call me Papa!"

Gooigi shook the hand offered, trying to blubber something akin to gratitude.

"It's nice to meet you too, kiddo." Marco straightened his collar, "Now, you're a ghost hunter?"

Gooigi nodded excitedly.

"Our albums are in the car." Luigi said for him, "We can go over them while we're here."

Anna blinked, a little dazed, "You drove here?"

"Um, yes?" Luigi scratched his head, "We've been driving here since we were twenty one."

"Oh I know that, _Bambino."_

"Then what's the issue?"

"Well, I just thought that..." Anna's gaze dropped to the floor, "...with...what's been happening..."

She looked a little haunted, and it made Luigi feel a little unsettled, "Mama, what do you mean? What happened?"

"Oh, nevermind that!" Anna's smile was back before they could decipher what she had meant, "Go get your luggage and we'll show you to your rooms!"

Luigi shared an uneasy glance with his brothers as they left the house. The small neighborhood was the same as they had left it, but somehow, Luigi found himself glancing over his shoulder more often.

Polterpup was in the car when they got back, perched on the front passenger seat like nothing had happened.

"Pup!" Luigi opened the door to shoo him out, "You'd better not ruin this! I haven't seen my parents in over a year!"

Polterpup sat by his feet, barking a few times for good measure.

Gooigi retrieved his suitcase from the trunk, shoving it inside his body, though due to the size of the suitcase, it appeared as if he'd just cut himself in half through the waist.

Luigi put his hands in his pockets, "Yeah, you're not approaching my mom like that."

Gooigi shrugged.

"Because you're gonna freak her out!" Luigi yanked the suitcase out, and Gooigi swayed back and forth, "Just carry it like a normal person!"

If Gooigi had eyeballs, he would have rolled them.

One thing that helped them out was that they only had one suitcase per person. They were only staying two nights, so Mario and Luigi didn't need much more than a toothbrush and a change of clothes. Gooigi only needed his jar, so the rest of his suitcase was filled with two photo albums, his camera and extra film, as well as a communicator in case they needed to get in contact with E. Gadd. The last thing left in the trunk of their car was the Poltergust G-00, which Gooigi carried in his other hand.

"Perfect." Luigi shut the trunk and hoisted his suitcase into his arms, "Let's go."

On the way back to the house, Mario and Luigi made idle conversation while Gooigi continued to soak in the surroundings. It was so peaceful and quiet. The rushing water in the canals and the quacking ducks were the loudest sounds that could be heard. E. Gadd's machines made quite a bit of noise, so Gooigi was astounded that any busy neighborhood could be so quiet. It was both charming and a little odd.

"AGH!"

Gooigi snapped his head up. Luigi lost his balance, slipping on the muddy slope and falling into the water.

Mario stepped on the edge of the bridge to lean over, "Luigi!"

Luigi's head broke the surface, "I'm okay!"

Mario reached for his hand, and he took it as he pulled him out of the water, "Oh! Your hat!"

Luigi let go once he'd regained his balance, putting both hands on his bare head, "My hat!"

It was floating in the canal away from them. One of the boat men swept it up with an oar, _"Cerchi questo, giovane?"_

Luigi sighed in relief, _"Sì. Grazie."_

Luigi headed to the bridge, reaching over the edge to take the hat from the oar and securing it on his head.

Mario took his suitcase from where he had set it down, "Luigi, where's your suitcase?"

Luigi looked around, then he gasped in horror, "My suitcase! I must have dropped it in the water!"

Gooigi set his luggage down to peer into the water, careful not to slip and fall.

"Hey, Luigi. Calm down." Mario held his forearm in one hand, "We can get it back, I'm sure."

"No, you don't understand!" Luigi jumped anxiously in place, "It had my flashlight in it! The special one that E. Gadd gave me! I need to get it back!"

Mario dropped his luggage, handing his hat off to Gooigi before diving into the water. Luigi nervously gazed after him. The water wasn't deep, but the suitcase was heavy, and the water was only so clear.

Mario broke the surface, took a gasp of air, and went under again.

"Figures he'd do that." Luigi shivered, "Daredevil, remember?"

Gooigi nodded.

Mario came back up, swimming to the edge, where Luigi pulled him out of the water.

"I'm sorry." he squeezed the water from his hair before he took his hat back, "I couldn't find it under there."

"Oh no!"

Mario grabbed his shoulders, "Luigi, why do you need it?"

"Because!" Luigi swallowed, "Because...I'm afraid of the dark. They don't have electricity out here, and I can't stand the idea of using the gaslights whenever I need to see."

Mario frowned, taking his luggage and heading back over the bridge, "Let's go tell Mama and Papa what happened. I'm sure we can get it back."

Luigi hung his head as he followed, holding his arms close to his body. Gooigi reached out to comfort him, but didn't want to touch the water that still clung to him.

Mario set his suitcase by the door, "Mama?"

Anna was in the kitchen. She took her apron off to head towards them, _"Carità!_ What happened to you boys!?"

"We lost Luigi's suitcase in the water canals." Mario explained.

"You lost it!? How!?" Anna ushered them into the house, "Nevermind that! I'll get you dried off!"

Luigi accepted the towel that was offered to him, but he remained downcast while Mario relayed the story.

"That sounds awful!" Anna lifted Luigi's chin, "Are you alright, _Il mio bambino?_ You're not hurt?"

"N-no, I'm not hurt." Luigi bit his lip to stop it quivering.

"Well, that's good." Anna stroked his cheek, "Don't worry, sweetheart. We'll get your luggage back."

She left to find Marco, and Luigi sunk into a chair at the kitchen table.

"Luigi?" Mario knelt beside the chair, "You can spend the night in my room, if you want."

"No, that's okay." Luigi dried his moustache, "I'm sure I'll be fine...somehow..."

Marco sat in the chair beside him, "Son? Where did you lose your suitcase?"

Luigi hugged himself, "By the bridge leading out of town."

"Let's go, then. I'm sure we can find it."

On the way back to the canal, Luigi tapped his dad on the shoulder, "Papa, are you sure? You're not as young as you used to be..."

"Oh, I know that, but if I can be a plumber for forty years, I can find a suitcase in a water canal."

Luigi felt annoyance bleed through his dread, "Okay..."

Before Marco could attempt anything though, Polterpup lept out from the water, carrying the soaking green suitcase in his mouth.

Marco jumped backwards, _"Carità! Cos'è quello!?"_

"Polterpup!" Luigi took the suitcase and set it aside, "Good Puppy! Good Pup!"

Marco cautiously approached the ghost dog, "This is Polterpup?"

"Yep! He's our ghost pup!" Luigi scratched Polterpup where his ears would be, "Isn't that right, Polterpup? You're a good boy!"

Polterpup pelted him with ghost kisses before he reached for the suitcase.

"Okay okay okay okay..." Luigi opened it up and retrieved the flashlight. His heart sank as he lifted it to the light. The bulb had been smashed in, and water had coated the delicate electronics inside.

"Oh..." Mario took the now-useless invention.

Luigi bawled into his hands, "I can't believe this!"

"Luigi," Mario tried to comfort him, "I'm sure E. Gadd can fix it..."

"I know, but what am I supposed to do while we're here!?"

Marco knelt beside him to wrap him up in a hug, "Son, why do you need that flashlight?"

Luigi continued to cry, "Because I'm afraid of the dark!"

"Why? You weren't afraid of the dark when you were a child..."

"Yeah, well, I also wasn't afraid of ghosts when I was a child, and I didn't have enemies when I was a child." Luigi wiped his tears away, "I mean, I brought that flashlight with me when we went to the Last Resort hotel, and I ended up needing it then! The idea of sleeping somewhere without it is..."

He felt an ice-cold chill shake him to the core, raising goosebumps all over his arms.

"Luigi." Mario gripped his shoulders, "King Boo isn't here."

Luigi shook his head, "But what if-!"

"He is _not here,_ Luigi." Mario interrupted, "He's not. How could he even track you here? We're in the Italian Countryside! And besides, every time you've fought him, it was because he lured you somewhere."

Luigi knew he was right, and yet, "But what about other ghosts?"

"I doubt they'd attack you with no reason."

"Okay, but I can't sleep in the dark!" Luigi tried to squash the sob that was rising in his chest, "It doesn't really matter, does it!? Without the chance of light, I'll always feel like there are ghosts in my room!"

Mario sighed, "Listen, Luigi. I get it, but it won't be dark."

"Yes it will!"

_"Luigi!"_

Luigi shut his mouth.

"We're in the countryside." Mario said, softer this time, "No city lights. That means the stars will be brighter, or did you forget?"

Luigi looked back on his previous visits, but he didn't recall what the stars looked like. He ran a fist over his eye, "It'll still be dark enough for ghosts..."

"I know, but you'll be able to see just fine. I promise."

Luigi looked into Mario's eyes, which reflected sincerity. He sighed, running a hand through his damp hair.

"Okay. I believe you."

"Good." Mario stood up, offering a hand to help his brother to his feet, "Let's go unpack now."

Luigi nodded, "Okay."

Back inside the house, Anna led them down the hallway, where there were no less than four bedrooms, "Don't think we forgot about you, Gooigi! I know you don't need a bed, but I figured you'd appreciate your own space!"

Luigi stopped at his own room, which shared a wall with Mario's. It was exactly the same as he'd left it, right down to the spare clothes in the closet and the parted curtains over the window. There were always these two rooms set aside for the two sons, and now they were sure that a third would be set aside for Gooigi.

Sitting on the bed, Luigi set his suitcase on the floor and his broken flashlight on the nightstand. He glanced out the window, where songbirds gathered on the tree branches outside.

As the afternoon bled into evening, Luigi felt the dread weigh heavier and heavier on him. They spent the day exploring, taking pictures and throwing lettuce in the water for the ducks, yet Luigi couldn't stop himself from watching as the sun began to dip lower and lower, casting a multicolored glow across the horizon.

Mario put an arm around him, "Luigi. Look."

Luigi watched the sunset, "Yup. It's great. Look how great it is, uh huh."

"No, not over there." Mario pointed above their heads, "There."

Luigi looked up, and his mouth fell open.

The darkness wasn't blotting out the sky. In fact, as civil twilight faded, the stars came into view, and there were so many of them. New Donk City's sky was almost completely black at night, but the sky above them now was dusted with stars like handfuls of glitter had been thrown over it. The moonlight shone down on them, and even though it wasn't a full moon, it was still plenty bright enough to illuminate the grass and water that surrounded them.

It wasn't bright compared to the daylight of course, but it wasn't very dark either.

Mario squeezed him, "I told you it wouldn't be dark."

Luigi found himself slowly nodding, "Yeah. Wow. I remember now."

"You were just too caught up in worst-case scenarios..." Mario said, his gaze still turned upward, "See? You're going to be okay."

Luigi breathed in the chill evening air, "Yeah. Maybe. It's going to be darker inside, though."

"I know, but you'll be okay."

As evening bled into night, Marco led them into the backyard, where a fire pit sat on an elevated concrete patio surrounded by camp chairs. He placed a few logs into the pit, then threw in some newspapers to act as kindling.

Gooigi warily hid behind Luigi, who smiled gently at him, "Hey, no worries. It's just a campfire. You know what that is, don't you?"

Gooigi shook his head, jumping back when Marco lit a match.

"Hey, it's okay. We've got this." Luigi took his hand, "See? It's just a small flame. As long as we're careful, it won't burn us."

Gooigi took a step closer, watching the embers as they flew up into the air, eating through the paper and slowly heating up the logs until they began to blacken and smoulder.

Anna stood by his other side, "Is Gooigi afraid of fire?"

"Well, whenever he's seen fire in the past, it always got me hurt, and it's hot enough to melt him." Luigi sat in one of the chairs, shivering when the wind picked up, "It doesn't surprise me that he would be wary around it. He's never seen it in a peaceful context. There was this one time where a chef had set fire to the kitchen in the hotel, and I couldn't even get inside because the smoke made it impossible to breathe."

"That's horrible." Anna sat beside him, one arm around his shoulders, "I'm sorry you've had to fight all those awful ghosts."

"Hey, Mama, it's fine. I'm okay." Luigi said, "It's okay, Gooigi. You can get pretty close to the fire without melting."

Gooigi took one of the chairs and sat down in it, watching the stones that held the fire contained. The light of the fire reflected off him in an unnatural way, but Luigi had just come to accept that by now. It wasn't creepy like it used to be; It was just something unique about him.

Marco threw a metal grate over the fire pit, and he roasted steaks over it as the family talked late into the night.

***

Luigi woke up dazed and confused. What day was it? Why was he not in his own bed? Then he remembered, and he rolled over to go back to sleep.

No such luck. He woke up every day at 7 am, and that wasn't going to change just because he was on vacation, so after a few more minutes of tossing and turning, he finally relented and got up to shower.

He rubbed his eyes as he entered the kitchen. The rest of the family was already up. Anna was at the stove while Gooigi curiously looked over her shoulder, and Marco and Mario were chatting at the table, though Mario yawned every once in awhile. The room was also full of the most wonderful, nostalgic smell.

Anna spotted him first, and she turned the stove down as she greeted him, "Luigi! Good to see you're finally up!"

Luigi gave a wide yawn, "Good morning, Mama. What'cha making?"

"I should hope you'd know by now!" Anna gestured to the two pots on the stove, one of which was full of boiling noodles and the other which held tomato sauce coated in various spices.

"Of course." Luigi said, "Do you need any help?"

"No, you just go sit down. It's almost ready!"

Mario smiled at Luigi as he sat at the table, "Hey, Weegee. How'd you sleep?"

Luigi shrugged, "Okay. It would have been nice to sleep in for once, though."

"That's what we get for staying up past your bedtime." Mario joked.

Luigi laughed, hitting his arm with the back of his hand, "Shut up. I'm pretty sure out of the three of us, you were the first to clock out."

Gooigi bumped into Anna trying to see over her shoulder, and he stepped away, gurgling some kind of apology. She smiled warmly at him.

"Boys, I know Gooigi doesn't eat, but can he taste?"

"Hm, sort of." Luigi rested his head in his arms, folded on the table, "He can differentiate smells, and he says that objects he touches have a certain quality about them that he describes as taste, but that's not the same thing as actually having a sense of taste."

Mario leaned back in his chair, "Gooigi, what do keys taste like?"

Gooigi thought about it, then he spelled out a word in sign language.

Luigi glanced at him, then at Mario, "He says they taste like metal."

"I see that." Mario crossed his arms over his chest, "I don't know what I expected."

"I don't know what you expected either, bro."

Anna turned off the stove and brought each pan to the table, pouring the strained noodles onto a large plate in the middle of the table, and then pouring the sauce overtop.

Once everyone had a plate of food, Anna cleared her throat, "Boys, I hate to ask this of you, but do you think you could help me out?"

Luigi put his fork down, "What is it?"

"Well, you know that folks around here tend to be superstitious." Anna explained, "You see, there's a reason I needed you boys over now. People have been seeing strange lights in the forest, and they think it's our fault."

Gooigi flinched back when Luigi stood up, "What!? Why!? What are they!?"

"We aren't sure." Marco leaned on the table, "But they're convinced it has something to do with you, Luigi. They say the ghosts you fight have cursed you, and by extension, us."

Luigi just barely resisted the urge to slap his own face, "You cannot be serious. Ghosts don't work like that! They can't curse people!"

"Well, it's not like they know that." Anna scoffed, "Giovanni is on our side at least, but everyone else is afraid to get close."

Luigi slowly sat back down, "Do you want us to go out and investigate?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

Luigi sighed, "Alright, I'll do it for you, Mama. For the record though, I highly doubt there will be ghosts. It's probably something perfectly natural that you could explain with fourth grade science."

Gooigi nodded, getting up to retrieve something from his room. After the family finished eating, they washed the dishes before the three brothers left the house, and Luigi took a deep breath.

"Okay. In order to prove what's going on, we'll need pictures." Luigi nudged the camera in Gooigi's hand, "The forest might be wet in some places, so watch your step."

As they went further down the path, the source of the lights became clear. Mario was the first to spot them, pointing out the bright flashes of light that appeared near the river in the distance. Once they made it to the river, Luigi smiled, and Gooigi took a few pictures.

"Wow. Look at the little guys." Luigi held his hand out, and one of the flaming salamanders on the riverbank weakly bit his finger, "I'll bet they're even brighter at night."

"That's odd." Mario inspected one of the salamanders as it climbed out of the water and promptly burst into flames, "We usually don't get flaming salamanders this far south."

"They must have migrated because of all the rain." Luigi glanced over Gooigi's shoulder to see the pictures he'd taken, "Well, let's head back. Hopefully..."

Gooigi turned to him when he trailed off, only to realize he'd been shoved towards the lake.

Luigi grabbed for him but missed, "GOOIGI, NO!"

Luckily, as soon as Gooigi registered that he was falling, he flattened himself against the ground, preventing him from hitting the water. He reformed behind Luigi, trembling slightly at the close call.

"Hey!" Luigi shielded him from the newcomer with his arm, an old man with a sweeping white beard, "What gives!?"

"How dare you bring something like that into our humble community!"

Mario took Gooigi's hand, "Hey, come on, let's go."

He grabbed the camera from the ground before the brothers bolted from the riverbank. Anna and Marco were already outside, arguing with the townsfolk as they shouted back and forth.

"I should've known." Luigi took the camera, cycling through the attached polaroids, "Such a tight-knit community full of old people would be prone to witch hunts."

"Show them the pictures!" Mario hissed.

"Right! I got it!" Luigi handed the pictures back except one, jumping out into the crowd, _"SILENZIO!"_

They quieted, looking at the picture he held up to the light. It was a perfect view of a flaming salamander, its back alight with fire as its forked tongue licked at the air.

"The lights in the forest are just fire from flaming salamanders." he said, making sure his voice carried, "That's all. There's no curse."

Nobody responded to him, though a few had the decency to look ashamed.

"There is a curse!" the old man who had shoved Gooigi said, "That thing you've brought is a ghost!"

"No he isn't!" Luigi tried to say, but the voices had started up again, drowning out anything he had left to say.

"Everyone, _per favore!"_ Anna called out, "Gooigi hasn't hurt anyone!"

Gooigi huddled closer to Luigi, his legs wobbling as the mix of a language he knew and a language he didn't made his head spin.

"He brought a ghost dog!"

Polterpup nudged Luigi's legs, whimpering in confusion and alarm.

"Any idiot knows that ghost dogs are omens of death!"

Luigi swallowed. That _was_ a traditional belief.

"Hey, pup, shhh." Luigi pet him, "Gooigi, it's okay. They're wrong about you. We just need to prove that."

Mario tugged on his bangs as he tried to think, then his eyes snapped open, "I have an idea!"

He took Gooigi's hand to lead him away from the crowd. He scoured the ground until he found a hefty stick, then he handed it to Gooigi, squeezing his hands and giving him a nod. He got the hint.

Gooigi called out as loud as he could, _"Here, Puupppyy!"_

Polterpup saw the stick and began to wag his tail, running to Gooigi and leaping in circles around him. Gooigi waved the stick back and forth, laughing as Polterpup panted, his front paws spread and his tail in the air. Finally, Gooigi threw the stick into the forest, and Polterpup ran after it.

Time seemed to stand still as Polterpup disappeared between the trees. He returned with the stick in his mouth, dropping it at Gooigi's feet and sitting in front of him, still wagging his tail.

 _"Goodd puup!"_ Gooigi gave Polterpup many pats, and received many ghost dog kisses in return.

The crowd was dumbfounded.

"You see?" Luigi gestured to them, "They aren't evil. There are no curses here, and I haven't brought bad luck to my family. The next time you accuse someone of something, make sure you've got the facts straight first."

Slowly, the crowd began to disperse. Some of them seemed to want to disappear into the floor, while others left angrily and reluctantly. Still, once they were gone, Luigi swiped a hand across his forehead.

"Well." Marco shrugged, his hands in his pockets, "That was...something."

"All things considered..." Mario scratched under Polterpup's chin, "That could have gone much worse."

"Yeah." Luigi sighed, "Anyway. You guys ready for the rest of the day?"

***

Gooigi grew closer to the two parents over the rest of the weekend, especially after that whole fiasco. He clung to Anna like a gecko, finding comfort in her huge, warm hugs, while Polterpup weaved back and forth between their legs. Marco told jokes, and they laughed late into the night. Gooigi found a way to shapeshift around the garden so he could water the flowers safely, and he found that roasted marshmallows temporarily changed his pH enough to make him stick to things like glue. As for the townsfolk, some of them gave Gooigi and Polterpup a wide berth, but many others were warming up to them. Gooigi hated being stared at with so much suspicion, but he tried to ignore the people that made him uncomfortable.

His family made him feel better, at least. They made him feel normal, like he was their own flesh and blood and not a strange ectoplasmic goo creature. Sometimes he forgot that he _wasn't_ human. He wasn't sure exactly how he felt about that, but he was glad he had people who cared so much about him.

By the time the weekend was over, Gooigi had a hard time leaving.

"Goodbye, _Bambini!"_ Anna called as she waved.

"Have a safe trip home!" Marco added.

Gooigi waved out the car window as the village disappeared around the corner, and Anna and Marco were out of sight.

"Don't worry." Luigi assured as he sat by his side, "We'll come visit again."

Gooigi watched the rolling hills fly by, overcome with giddiness.

He couldn't wait.

***


End file.
